Wausau property inspector Cliff Ambriz stands in front of a deserted nuisance property. The city is considering a system of landlord licensing in its battle against blight.

A new proposal that would develop a system of landlord licensing in Wausau has the potential to help the city in its ongoing battle with blight. It will be a policy worth watching in coming months.

The city's Housing Task Force, which made the recommendation this week, has been active in recent years and has implemented some positive blight-fighting policies. A new ordinance that came out of the task force allows city inspectors to declare properties a nuisance if they've received three building code violations in a six-month period.

Given the depth of the work the task force has done on related issues, we're inclined to give its recommendation the benefit of the doubt on this policy - though there remain a lot of specifics yet to be worked out.

The idea is that, by requiring licenses, the city would have increased leverage in getting landlords to comply with building codes and keep their properties from falling into disrepair.

One of the strongest objections to the policy is the fact that the city already has those building codes and does not always enforce them uniformly.

Part of the problem there is that the city's inspections department lacks needed technology to efficiently track violations - as recently as this summer, it had no digital database of violators and no good way of letting inspectors use mobile technology. This is a problem the city needs to solve by giving the department the tools it needs to join the 21st century. It's possible that an upgrade would lead to more effective enforcement of rules already on the books.

It's also true that in discussions of blight, rental properties in general can be an easy target, almost a scapegoat in the eyes of some. This can be seen in occasional claims by some that renters are not "real" members of a given neighborhood or that they don't pay property taxes. The attitude that rental properties don't belong in Wausau is a destructive one and needs to be checked.

But that doesn't mean the city doesn't have problem landlords and run-down rental properties, and it doesn't mean licensing can't be part of the solution.

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT

Email this article

Our View: Landlord licenses can aid blight fight

A new proposal that would develop a system of landlord licensing in Wausau has the potential to help the city in its ongoing battle with blight. It will be a policy worth watching in coming months.

A link to this page will be included in your message.

Join Our Team!

If you are interested in working for an innovative media company, you can learn more by visiting: